Category Archives: Southwest Airlines

Today Only: 35% Off Southwest Airlines Fares for 7 Upcoming Dates

Posted by on May 15, 2012 No comments

Today only (May 15th) you can save 35% on nearly all Southwest Airlines flights on the following dates:  May 22, 30, 31; June 5, 6; July 4, 5 when you enter code SUMMER12 at checkout. Discount is taken on Wanna Get Away fares in all markets except:

  • Austin—San Diego
  • Baltimore/Washington—Ft. Myers
  • Baltimore/Washington—San Diego
  • New York LaGuardia—Chicago Midway
  • Kansas City—San Diego
  • Chicago Midway—Oakland
  • Chicago Midway—San Diego
  • Chicago Midway—San Antonio
  • Chicago Midway—Seattle
  • Chicago Midway—San Francisco
  • Chicago Midway—Tucson
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul—Phoenix
  • St. Louis—Tampa Bay

Again, offer is only good today.

Earn 10 Ultimate Rewards Points Per Dollar When You Purchase Southwest Airlines Gift Cards with Chase Ink Bold

Posted by on May 7, 2012 2 comments

Want to earn 10 Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar you spend on Southwest Airlines? Here’s how: (Editor’s Note: an earlier version of this post listed this as 7 points…it is actually 10 points)

Chase Business Ink Bold holders earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points when they purchase items from an Office Supply store (such as Staples). If you purchase from Staples by going to the Ultimate Rewards website and clicking on “Earn Faster” and then “Earn Bonus Points at the Ultimate Rewards Mall” you’ll see a link to earn 5x points at Staples. You MUST log in to Ultimate Rewards with your Ink Bold login, not your Sapphire login. Sapphire login will only show 2x points at Staples.

Staples sells Southwest Airlines gift cards. If you click through the Staples link in the Ultimate Rewards mall and purchase those gift cards you’ll earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar spent at Staples, plus 5 additional points per dollar because you purchased from an Office Supply store. In total, that’s 10 UR points for every dollar spent.

Those UR points can be transfered to Southwest Airlines or one of their other airline partners (see my full list of redemption airlines here). Where else are you going earn 10 points per dollar for travel?

Staples also sells Marriott gift cards, and you can earn the same 10x bonus, but the Marriott Visa already gives you 5x Marriott points for spend at a Marriott hotel, so the deal isn’t quite as hot, but it’s still solid.

(Credit where it’s due to this FT thread, which was talking about getting a similar, though no longer as good, deal for Marriott)

Chase Ink Bold gives you 25,000 points after first purchase and other 25,000 points after spending $10k.

Southwest Passenger Arrested After Painting Nails on Flight

Posted by on March 8, 2012 2 comments

My family knows that I basically have one rule in my life: no one can paint their nails in my vicinity. I’m serious. I’d rather sit in a middle seat for 18 hours on a charter flight filled entirely with tuna fish sandwiches. (Why would tuna fish sandwiches be chartering a flight? Good question. I’m not really sure.)

Anyway, a passenger on a Southwest flight from Los Angeles to Houston thought that for some reason it would be acceptable to inflict that smell on the other 150 people on the plane. Thankfully for those other people on the plane, the flight attendants asked the woman to stop. She agreed.

But then she decided that she really only had a couple of nails left to paint, and she really, really, really wanted to get them finished, so this person, obviously the most selfish person in the universe, headed to the bathroom to finish painting her nails in there, since no one would notice that smell trapped in that tiny cubicle.

A flight attendant confronted her when she exited the now-very-stinky bathroom, an argument ensued, and the passenger apparently spoke in a not particularly nice manner at the flight attendant. When the plane landed in Houston, police arrested her.

Charges were eventually dropped, but only after spending 10 hours in jail, which was clearly not long enough.

Get Double Southwest Rapid Rewards Points on All Flights from 6 Airports

Posted by on December 23, 2011 2 comments

Southwest is offering double Rapid Rewards points on all flights into or out of Boston, Manchester, Providence, Orlando, Newark and LaGuardia between January 4 and February 15th. Register here. The bonuses don’t count toward Elite qualification or Companion Pass.

You’ll get 24 points (instead of the standard 12 points) per dollar spent on Business Select Fares, 20 points (instead of 10 points) per dollar spent on Anytime Fares, and 12 points (instead of six points) on Wanna Get Away? Fares.

This can be pretty lucrative for A+ members. As someone on Flyertalk points out, a $900 Business Select ticket will earn you 32,400 points, which is enough for a $324 Amazon gift card. Consider this promo to be a 36% rebate in the form of Amazon gift cards.

You must book your travel by December 30th to qualify.

Full T&C:
Terms and Conditions: Member must register for this promotion between December 22, 2011 and December 30, 2011 and registration must be completed prior to commencement of travel. Valid on new reservations only. Member must book between December 22, 2011 and December 30, 2011 for travel into or out of these Southwest destinations: Boston Logan, Manchester, Newark, New York (LaGuardia), Orlando, and Providence. Travel must be completed between January 4, 2012 and February 15, 2012. Member will receive 12 bonus points per dollar spent on Business Select Fares, 10 bonus points per dollar spent on Anytime Fares, and six bonus points on Wanna Get Away? Fares. The maximum number of bonus points a Member can earn for each one-way travel is 12 bonus points per dollar spent on Business Select Fares, 10 bonus points per dollar spent on Anytime Fares, and six bonus points on Wanna Get Away? Fares, regardless if one-way travel includes two qualifying Southwest destinations. Bonus points are in addition to the standard flight points earned through Rapid Rewards. Rapid Rewards account number must be entered at the time of booking. Member will receive bonus Rapid Rewards Points within four days after completion of entire ticket. Award, Companion Pass, Southwest Vacation Packages, Jackpot Deal Packages, and reward travel do not qualify for promotion. Bonus points do not count toward A-List, A-List Preferred, or Companion Pass qualification. Changes made to the itinerary after purchase may eliminate qualification for this promotion. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply.

Southwest Matches American and Offers Double Tier Qualifying Points

Posted by on December 22, 2011 No comments

I did a double-take when I just saw that Southwest Airlines is basically matching American’s double qualifying miles promo and offering double tier qualifying points for flights through January 31st. You’ll get six bonus Tier Qualifying points per dollar spent on Wanna Get Away? Fares, 10 bonus Tier Qualifying points per dollar spent on Anytime Fares, and 12 bonus Tier Qualifying points per dollar spent on Business Select Fares.

If you’re a Southwest flyer, that’ll obviously be helpful.

But I’m really bringing this up because there was a time not so long ago where I could never have imagined Southwest matching this type of promo. One of my favorite airline stories is about how in its early days Southwest couldn’t afford to match a fare sale from Texas International, so instead they offered a free fifth of whiskey if you paid full fare, which apparently most people did. It’s hard to believe that the same company is matching a DEQM promo. I would guess Southwest is getting hurt pretty badly down in Dallas for them to bother with this. And if that’s true, and DEQM trumps free checked bags, why doesn’t Southwest just start charging for bags?

Southwest Is Now Ultimate Rewards Partner…Plus 50,000 Point Link Is Still Alive (NOW DEAD)

Posted by on December 15, 2011 No comments

Chase has announced that it will add Southwest Airlines as an Ultimate Rewards transfer partner on January 5, adding some value for those with the Sapphire Preferred and Business Ink Bold cards. If you were wondering, transferring points does not count toward earning the free companion ticket.

This is a good time to mention that although the affiliate links for the Southwest credit card no longer offer 50,000 points for a signup, this link here DOES still get you 50,000 points after your first purchase. $69 annual fee applies. (NOW DEAD)

Earn 300 Southwest Rapid Rewards Points for Email Signups

Posted by on December 13, 2011 No comments

Here’s an easy one: Sign up for Southwest Airlines email newsletters (here) and earn 500 Rapid Rewards points if you stay signed up for 3 months.

Seriously, that’s it. Carry on.

Get $25 Off a Southwest Airlines Flight to Florida

Posted by on November 4, 2011 No comments

Visit Florida (Florida’s tourism organization) has partnered with Southwest Airlines to give anyone who wants it a coupon good for $25 off a flight to Florida on Southwest Airlines. Just fill out the very brief form here, and they’ll email you a coupon. It’s good for flights to Florida through January 30th, and it’s (of course) blacked out Nov 22-29 and Dec 15-Jan 2.

Southwest Airlines Credit Card 50,000 Point Bonus Is Still Alive (NOW DEAD)

Posted by on October 12, 2011 2 comments

Many of us (myself included) were told that August 7th was the last date to apply for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Visa card and receive a 50,000 point bonus for making just 1 purchase. Those who applied after that date would have to settle for 25,000 points (quick reminder: 50,000 Rapid Rewards points is roughly equal to $833 worth of travel.)

Well, it turns out that’s not true. This link to the 50,000 point bonus application is still alive, and people who use that link report they are receiving the 50,000 bonus points after the first purchase. (NOW DEAD)

If you were holding out for a better offer from Southwest after missing that initial bonus, you’ve lucked out – it still works.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: SOUTHWEST IS NOW PROMOTING THIS DEAL, SO IF YOU WERE CONCERNED THAT THE OLD LINK WAS EXPIRED, IT’S NOW OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE AS OF OCTOBER 17)

Actress Kicked Off Southwest Flight for Kissing Girlfriend (Or Something Like That. Maybe)

Posted by on September 27, 2011 No comments

Is Southwest the only airline that kicks people off its flights?

Actress Leisha Hailey, who stars in the L Word, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because either she was kissing her girlfriend in a manner not appropriate in a public setting or because Southwest hates lesbians.

You make the call.